it was a good weekend to be a caveman at the box office. dream works' "the croods" beat expectations. and we'll see a sequel because of those numbers. and "olympus" has fallen also exceeded box office estimates by raking in $30 million making it the top action movie opening in 2013. speaking of action movies, "captain america 2" may be adding the sundance creator robert redford to the cast. he's rumored to be playing a good guy. the slime was flowing at the kids choice awards. the lucky stars covered in green goo included sandra bullock and rapper pit bull. and finally, oscar winner tilda swinton surprised visitors of visitors of the new york museum of modern art.

the 52-year-old just sleeps in a clear glass box all day while puzzled museumgoers ponder the meaning of the performance piece. i may not be that cultured about it but i can do that. can you? >> in front of everyone doing that. >> who cares. sleep is sleep. i don't get enough of it as it is. i'm betty nguyen and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. ♪ >> we don't take ourselves too seriously. we have a lot of guys on the team that are characters. knowing us who we are, we're fgcu, hopefully by now they're learning those initials. >> who are those guys? the coach of florida gulf coast sale greating after they became the first 15 seed to make it to the sweet 16. this school, by the way, didn't even have classes before 1997

and now they're in the sweet 16 going against florida. good morning, i'm brian shactman. this is "way too early." thanks for being up with us. a lot to talk about on this monday, march 25th including john kerry pressuring iraq when it comes to turning a blind eye on iranian weapon shipments into syria. we'll have a live report. plus, the senate passes its first budget in four years without a single republican vote with another very different plan coming from the house, is there room for either side to give any ground whatsoever? we'll look at that. first to the rest of the news live at 5:30 at 30 rock in new york city and we begin with the nation's ongoing debate over gun safety. after weeks of bipartisan negotiations between senators chuck schumer and tom coburn failed to advance it, now appears john mccain emerged as a critical player in talks to expand background checks for private firearms sales. the hill reports republican

senators susan collins and dean heller could sign off after democrats included several modifications aimed at attracting support from the right. a recent quinnipiac poll finds 09% of the public is in favor of universal background checks. they've had a tougher time getting a ban on assault weapons but michael bloomberg was optimistic congress would vote on the measure. >> we are going to have a vote for sure on assault weapons and we're going to have a vote on background checks and if we were to get background checks only, it wouldn't be as good as if we got both but we demanded a plan and demanded a vote. we've got the plan, we're going to get the vote. >> bloomberg announced a new $12 million television ad campaign that challenges senators in 13 states from arizona to pennsylvania to back gun control

legislation. >> for me, guns are for hunting and protecting my family. i believe in the second amendment and i'll fight to protect it. but with rights come responsibilities, that's why i support comprehensive background checks so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can't buy guns. that protects my rights and my family. >> however, nra vice president wayne lapierre was blunt in his assessment of bloomberg's advocacy saying american values are not up for sale. >> he's going to find out this is a country of the people, by the people and for the people and he can't spend enough of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the american public. they don't want him in their restaurants. they don't want him in their homes or telling them what food to eat. they sure don't want him telling what self-defense firearms to own and he can't buy america. he's so reckless in his terps of his comments on this whole gun

issue. >> we have people all over, millions of people sending us 5, 10, 15, $20 checks saying stand up to this guy that says we can only have three bullets which is what he said. stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like the nra wants firearms with nukes on them. it's insane. >> i'd pay money to see them in a gb in the same room. the senate will debate the proposed gun legislation next month after returning from easter recess. well, some things only happen every four years. forget presidential elections, the olympics, leap years and this weekend, the senate did something it had not done in more than 1400 days, passed a budget. the all night session stretched from friday into the early hours of saturdays as senators dealt with amendments all over the place ranging from the keystone pipeline to eliminating tax breaks for fish tackle box manufacturers. no joke. it's true.

passed a budget by a margin of one vote. >> now, the average budget resolution considered 78 amendments, we've done 101. average 35 amendments, we've done 70. twice as many. doing this has been a herculean feat. >> i know everyone is exhausted, and you may not feel it at the moment, but this is one of the senate's finest days in recent years and i commend everyone who's participated in this extraordinary debate. >> can't figure out if mr. in cane is awake. not a single republican supported the plan and four democrats each up for re-election next year also voted against their party's budget. the plan cuts $1.85 trillion over 10 years through a mixture of tax increases and spending cuts and will not balance the budget. the house republican budget which was already defeated in the senate would have slashed $4.6 trillion in spending over the same period without raising

taxes. now senator patty murray, the architect of the senate plan will work with congressman paul ryan to try to bridge the gap between the two radically different proposals. well, there are some pivotal arguments being heard at the supreme court this week as the justices take up two key cases involving gay marriage. they include california's proposition 8 case on tuesday and the defense of marriage act or doma on wednesday. one of the top attorneys arguing against prop 8 which bans sa same-sex marriage in the state predicted a win while speaking on "meet the press." >> every time the supreme court makes a decision, it's making a decision that certain fundamental rights are too important to be left to the ballot box. we've done it with race, with women, with every discriminating class and, remember, when the united states supreme court outlawed the bans on interracial marriage in 1967, 64% of the

american people opposed interracial marriage and yet when that decision came down, there wasn't a ripple. >> today more than 160 rallies are planned across the country in support of what advocates call marriage equality. a recent abc news/"washington post" poll shows most americans think same-sex marriage should be legal. a major shift from nine years ago when more people were against gay marriage than were for it. but the poll also shows a significant age divide. 70% of people under the age of 40 support same-sex marriage while more over the age of 6 abelieve it should be illegal. 50-44. secretary of state john kerry made an unannounced visit to iraq meeting with prime minister nuri al maliki in an attempt to stop the flow of arms and fighters to the assad regime in syria. kerry pressed leaders in baghdad to crack down on flights from iran to syria which passes over iraqis airspace.

>> we had a very spirited discussion on the subject of the overflights. anything that supports president assad is problematic and i made it very clear to the prime minister that the overflights from iran are, in fact, helping to sustain president assad and his regime. >> those opposed to bashar al assad's government are struggling to maintain a united coalition after the head of the u.s.-backed opposition resigned. "the new york times" reports arab nations and turkey have sharply stepped up aid to the rebels with the help of the cia. for more on that, nbc's eamon mohyeldin joins us. >> as you just mentioned there,

the greatest concern for u.s. officials right now are the flights coming in from iran over iraq and into syria. now, according to u.s. intelligence estimates as well as syrian opposition figures they believe these flights are carrying important weapons and more importantly cash for the regime of president bashar al assad. they're denying that saying they're only sending humanitarian aid. more confirmation coming out that countries like saudi arabia, qatar and turkey are much more involved in accepting weapons directly to the rebels via support of the international community including western intelligence agencies like the cia. the concern is the shipments of weapons. are they actually getting to the right hands and that is a major concern for u.s. officials that has made them very slow in supporting lethal aid to syrian opposition fighters. they've always been concerned they could fall in the hands of al qaeda fighters or extremists

that could someday be used against u.s. interests in the region. >> thank you very much. ayman, we appreciate the report. leaders of the european union have agreed on a new bailout deal to keep cyprus in the eurozone that scraps a proposed tax on bank deposits. cyprus will receive the first payment worth $13 billion in early may. for more on the deal let's check in with cnbc's karen tso. >> looks like wall street will open up stronger as a result. these funds are crucially -- it's those deposit holders under 100,000 euros in the bank won't be targeted. those are safe but this bailout deal is still a disaster for those more than 100,000 euros, some wealthy businessmen and

britons who have money in the banks will be targeted. basically we'll see banks shift deposits below 100,000 into the bank of cyprus to create a good bank, better means that uninsured deposit holders will hand over 4.2 billion euros and also those in bank of cyprus, the so-called good bank will be forced to make a contribution as well so the question marks from here, what happens with those who still have money invested in cyprus? will they try to remove it and capital controls are still in place in the country but many concerned that cyprus is still going to be a going concern from here and whether the country can reduce its gdp which stands at about 100%? karen, confusing. hope the deals work. karen tso live for us. we appreciate it. global markets are positive on the news. in a few hours we're

expected to learn more about that lone ticket that hit the powerba powerball jackpot. only one ticket matched all six numbers. in jersey, not me. 14 others did nail down the $1 million prize. the ticket for the jackpot was from new jersey but so far no one has claimed that prize said to be the fourth largest in powerball history and should the winner opt for the lump sum payment. what would we do with the money? you're not taking anything but that lump sum worth 221 million bucks. tell us what to do with the money if it were you? if you are want to tell us it was you, shoot us an e-mail or tweet us @bshactman and read the best responses later. still ahead on "way too early." florida gulf coast knocking off san diego state after busting my bracket with a win over

georgetown friday and we'll break down the school's historic run in sports. which oscar winning actress put on this unusual performance at the museum of modern art in new york city. that's right. these's sleeping in a glass box for everyone to watch and that is art. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. how long? not long because no lie can live forever. how long? not long. because you shall reap what you sow. how long? not long. ♪

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many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. it's the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat. take a look at st. louis, mo mornings where snow, unbelievable, what this winter has done to many parts of the

united states. bill karins, i lived in the northeast my entire life. all 41 fantastic years and i can say i'm sick of it. i'm ready for green grass and baseball and shorts. >> of course, mike barnicle challenged me to do the entire forecast without saying the "s" word the whole way through. let's see how this goes. >> is there any money on it? >> no. there should be. this is impressive, these flakes are falling at a very high rate coming down over the capital. we've got a coating of the white stuff all over the lawns and the grass now in the d.c. area and the lawn of the white house looks like it's kind of white there too. the president will have to do extra shoveling. here's what we're looking at, temperatures have dropped down cold enough around d.c. and baltimore we will see significant accumulations especially on the grassy surfaces. the roads will probably remain slushy but getting a lot of school cancellations and delays

in maryland, delaware, southern pennsylvania and back through the ohio valley. d.c. is colder this morning and that's where the heart of this storm is going to be. so as far as the forecast is going to go, the heavy snow, we have a band of it from cleveland still back into areas of indiana and then as we go into the d.c. area, especially around the baltimore area, that's where the heaviest snow is right now so if we're going to get -- i think i just said it. >> you said it twice. >> whoo! doubling down. i was doing good. as far as forecast goes, the worst of it is going to be early this morning then it will improve as we go throughout the afternoon so the forecast accumulations of that little powdery sugar, 3 to 6 around pittsburgh, d.c., around 1 to 3. d.c. could be the higher end. notice philadelphia and new york we're not going to get quite as much. that's an epic failure on my part. >> you were doing well for awhile. but 90-second report and said it twice in 45 seconds so --

>> it was an epic fail. epic fail. >> we'll try again tomorrow. all right. thanks a lot, bill. to sports we'll start with the team that probably messed up your bracket this weekend, certainly ruined mine fresh off their upset of georgetown 15 seed florida gulf coast taking on san diego state? the round of 32. late first half, chase feeler drives and he will throw it down. they had some athletes on that team, eagles would go into halftime trailing by one. second half, florida gulf coast starting to pull away. combs to thomas for the layup. eagles put an exclamation with that alley-oop, 81-71 and win it, the first 15 seed ever to get to the sweet 16. they'll take on 3 seed florida this friday. scarborough, be interesting to see what he says. ole miss and lasalle. tyrone garland gets the tough layup to fall. la salle takes the lead.

old miss, tries for the buzzer beater, not close. they'll take on wichita state, la salle will. two seed miami facing illinois. tied at 5. brandon paul takes it to the rack and the illini take the lead. miami down by one, shane larkin, son of barry larkin, hall of fame baseball player, a step-back three and nails it. the hurricanes hang on by a final of 63-59. he is an awesome basketball player and are in a sweet 16 matchup with marquette. temple, victor oladipo's three gives them the lead and win 58-52 and play syracuse, remember that key smart classic from the '80s so that's that one and we finally got our buzzer beater courtesy of ohio state's aaron craft knocking down the three with 0.2 seconds left to

give two seed ohio state the win. the buckeyes beat arizona in their sweet 16 matchup. let's get a little bit of golf. tiger woods will have to wait a few hours most likely to see his return to the top ranking in the world. a tornado warning in orlando postponed most of the final round of the arnold palmer invitational until today but tiger did manage to get in two holes yesterday before the rain came and birdied the par 3 2nd and will get back to number one for the first time since 2010 if he can hold that lead today. but not everybody played so well. that's sergio garcia in a tree trying to rescue an errant tee shot and got it out of the tree into the fairway. he had a double bogey but withdrew from the tournament with a sore akchilles tendon --

he can climb a tree and does not like losing. "morning joe" and obama administration tells them not to have flights leave with represents over syria. where so many have given their lives. ? to boldly go where no one has gone before. >> an irs ad. why your tax dollars went toward a "star trek" parody. more on that video when "way too early" comes right back. vo: from the classic lines to the elegant trim in each and every piece,

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all right. let's hit the water cooler. watch how the irs prepares for tax season. a "star trek" themed parody video starring irs employees was apparently filmed to help train workers at a leadership conference back in 2010 paid for with your tax dollars. >> back in russia i dreamed someday i'd be rich and famous. >> me too. that's why i became a public servant.

>> what is it? >> i just received an emergency medical distress call. they're dying down there. some new fangled disease. >> they call it the tax gap. >> tell scotty in engineering to get us back to earth. get ready to beam down. >> shall i wear a ski cap to cover my ear, captain? >> no, your ears are fine but you got to loosen up. that's an order. ♪ >> i mean it's so bad it's not even funny. that's the thing. according to cbs, the irs says the video in a separate skit based on "gilligan's island" cost $60,000 to produce saying it was a bargain saying individual training would have cost millions.

it did not respect the best stewardship of our resources. what else is there left to achieve after starring in a david bowie video? sleeping in an art form. tilda swinton is sleeping at new york's city museum of modern art. it's a performance art piece where she sleeps for seven hours straight in a glass box. soups like an art project some of my friends would have done. has a cushion. water jug. anyone with a museum ticket can take a look. where in the world is paris hilton still relevant? maybe in india. a winking paris is featured in this ford design, the indian decision. in the back she has all three kardashian sisters tied up with the slogan leave your worries behind. another version of the leaked ad is a bit more controversial. it shows former italian prime

minister berlusconi with three scantily tied up women in the back. ford never intended to release the ads and issued a statement saying "we deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency part earners that it should never have happened. the posters are temporary to the standards of professionalism and decency within ford and our agency partners." i think i'll leave it at that. still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? your tweets, texts and e-mails are just ahead and "morning joe" moment as way. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understand. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. some people will do anything to help eliminate litter box odor.